The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is an unprecedented challenge for the small economies of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
With Member States closing borders, recommending social distancing and
closure of main economic activities such as dining out, “staycations”
and other community gatherings, it is fair to say that COVID – 19 has not only impacted the very social fabric of Member States, but also commercial and consumer welfare within the Region.

It is natural that small to medium businesses would be required to
scale down their operations to protect employees. This results in
disruptions in the delivery of services and products to consumers. There
have also been notable surges in the demand for groceries, personal
protective equipment, and healthcare items in recent weeks across the
Region, leading to shortages in supplies of these products. These demand
and supply shocks have invariably led to price increases throughout the
Member States, to the detriment of their most economically vulnerable
consumers (i.e. the impoverished). The misinformed are also now
susceptible to marketing ploys for goods or services claiming to cure,
treat or prevent COVID 19.

The CARICOM Competition Commission (CCC) believes that through its regional competition and consumer mandates within the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC), the challenges to commercial and consumer welfare associated with COVID-19 can be minimized. The CCC’s two main priorities are always: ensuring consumers in the region benefit from competitive markets through competition advocacy and enforcement; and promoting the protection of the health and safety of consumers in the Member States.

The Commission is of the view that the sale and/or promotion of
fraudulent products or services that promise to treat, cure or prevent
COVID 19 is a threat to the regional public health and prohibited under
the national consumer protection and/or other relevant national
legislation in the region.

The CCC further affirms that anti-competitive business conduct aimed
at taking advantage of consumers by restricting access or supply to, or
excessively raising or maintaining high prices of necessary goods and
other items used to protect consumers from COVID 19, is prohibited under
the Community Competition Policy and national competition laws in the
Member States that have enacted such laws.

To ensure that regional public health is secured and competition in
the markets for the supply of goods and items used to protect consumers
from COVID 19 are maintained, the CCC will collaborate with its regional
partners, such as national competition and consumer protection
authorities, sector regulators, non-government consumer organisations,
and other regional institutions to:

Engage in competition advocacy to encourage firms to behave responsibly in pricing their products during this pandemic

Ensure and/or facilitate communication by relevant
authorities with businesses and consumers to report sale and pricing
practices that are suspected of infringing national competition or
consumer protection laws.

Monitor markets as to whether firms are engaging in
conduct which substantially impedes effective competition in markets in
key product markets.

Encourage direct enforcement action against firms
that individually or collectively engage in anti-competitive business
conduct. For example, firms colluding to fix or charge excessive prices
for key products or marketing fraudulent products that claim to prevent,
cure or treat COVID 19.

Advocate for the fast track implementation of
national competition and consumer protection laws in Member States
without such laws to assist in the ability of agencies to respond
effectively to unscrupulous sales and pricing practices in the region.

Promote a region-wide monitoring policy for prices
of critical products and services (voluntary or otherwise) such as
selected food and health and safety related items in Member States where
market conditions do not currently support effective competition.

For further information about the CCC and its mandate under the RTC, please visit our website at www.caricomcompetitioncommission.com.
If you wish to report unfair or anti-competitive sale and pricing
practices that may be in your Member State, please feel free to contact
us at admin@ccc.sr.